By Mike Lee

Tuesday, November 10, 2009 at 2:41 p.m.

SAN DIEGO — A meeting that’s key to forming the size and location of areas off-limits to fishing has been tense Tuesday, capped off by brief shouting and shoving as anglers, environmentalists, marine scientists and others vie to make their case.

By day’s end, a statewide Blue Ribbon Task Force is expected to choose from among four plans for revamping marine protected areas, where fishing and other seafood harvesting are banned or restricted. Its proposal will be finalized by the state Fish and Game Commission, likely by late next year.

All options on the table would roughly double the territory covered by existing marine protected areas in Southern California. The remapping process is mandated by the Marine Life Protection Act of 1999, which was designed to improve the biological productivity of state waters through limits on fishing.

At stake in Southern California are tens of millions of dollars in potential revenue loss for the commercial seafood industry, sportfishing charters and various types of recreational fishing groups.

The region is widely seen as California’s most contentious for the remapping process, mainly because many competing interests use its 250 miles of coastal waters.

That conflict was reflected around midday Tuesday during the task force’s meeting in Los Angeles. State Fish and Game wardens broke up an altercation between two men arguing about a proposed no-fishing zone off La Jolla.

The area has been a major source of controversy as interest groups tried to forge compromise for more than a year leading up to Tuesday’s session. Conservationists call it the rainforest of San Diego County’s coastline because it’s home to a diverse range of marine life.

After order was restored, panel chairwoman Catherine Reheis-Boyd asked for civility.

“I appreciate the emotions in the room,” she said. “We know this is a very important conversation.”